I had to go into hospital for surgery on Wednesday so I decided to use it as an opportunity to quit smoking, I've tried to quit before many times and failed, normally I don't get past the first week. I've been a smoker for 22 years and I hate it. I don't want to throw any more money at it and I want to protect my health as I'm very healthy in every other aspect of my life.

I had my last cigarette at 8am on Wednesday 2nd April, I had my surgery and stayed in hospital overnight and came home yesterday (Thursday) evening, I'm guessing all the pain meds I'm on are masking the cravings and because I'm not doing normal things the habit element isn't as noticable. I have an e-cig if I need it and have used it a couple of times, more holding it in my mouth than inhaling though.

I'm hoping that by the time I am due to go back to work next Tuesday I'll have got past the worst of it as my job is one where smoking is very common in fact a fag break is the only break you get and most of my colleagues are smokers so it's going to be tough if I'm in the heavy craving stage.

I'm worried about weight gain as I can't afford to change size as I've already bought a special dress for a friends wedding and it has to fit, any tips would be appreciated.

6 Replies

It's so lovely to meet you and to read your story! Congratulations on making the decision to stop smoking, it's a fabulous decision and you will realise your dream of being healthier as a result of it - just check out the posts of some of the longer term non-smokers on here - they certainly give you inspiration and motivation to continue!

Happy the good news is that you are already an ex smoker so don't wait for that to happen because it's already has! which is fantastic!

You are not a smoker who wants a cigarette, you are now an ex smoker just recovering from the effects that 22 years of smoking has had on you. I stopped smoking only 12 days ago, but I've already learnt a lot about what is happening and, thanks to the amazing people on here, how to cope with it. The brain can be totally evil during this process, it can really make you believe that you want a cigarette, it's overwhelming at times, but when that happens, just keep telling yourself that actually you don't want a cigarette, if you had wanted a cigarette you wouldn't have stopped smoking, it's just your brain attempting to trick you. You have to remain positive and strong during these time and they will pass, and they pass quicker the longer it goes on

See every phase as a good thing, a positive thing because it's a sign that your body is in recovery. It never lasts long and you always feel amazing when you've got through it and really really happy that you have! And that in itself motivates you to continue.

Re your work colleagues, try to feel sorry for them, because they are still in the process of poisoning their bodies with toxic cigarettes, try not to feel sorry for yourself because you can't have one - just remember that you actually don't want one, again the brain will play tricks on you. You never know, your success at stopping might help to inspire them!

And a good tip from here is to stock up on healthy snacks to nibble on. I use carrots and cucumber chopped into sticks and also slices of apples when I fancy something sweet - it all helps!

Aup Happy-Bird , just love your name gal a massive warm welcome to this lovely quit site and on day 3 of your quit toooooo Try to stay focused on your quit, remember the reasons WHY you want to quit

As for you being worried about putting weight on during your quit, erm, I think most of us snack !! BUT, its what you snack on eh ! Try to keep it healthy if you can, mind you saying that, when I first quit, I always snack on choccie but that helps me get through but I do exercise as well, I'm a Month quit now, and am snacking on mixed nuts & raisins now, sooooooo, a bit healthier now

We had a healthy snacking post a bit ago, I will try to find it for you and post it up

Hi Happy-Bird, Well done on your quit. Both Chrissie and Pete have said it all. I found one of the older post regarding snacks, which Pete had put on :-

Are you snacking and putting the lbs on ??

It sounds like a lot of us now we have quit the ciggies are erm, snacking on choc & cake & all goooood things like that !! Well, why not try some good for your body snacks eh

You can prepare your own snack box and keep it in the fridge, so that its ready for when you get the urge to snack, you could put whatever you might fancy into it, as long as it is healthy and tasty

What could you put in it ??

Carrots – raw and chopped into chunks

Peppers- as above

Celery – as above, but with perhaps a bit of low fat spread

Baby tomatoes

Beetroot – cooked and chopped into chunks

Lean meats – ham, chicken or turkey, chopped into chunks

Hard boiled eggs

Fruit – fresh, tinned or dried

Nuts – fresh, that is – although they are high in calories, they are jam packed with nutrition and proteins

Seeds – like sunflower seeds, these are also packed with nutrition

Wholegrain cereals –

Pomegranates – cut into quarters, get a clean pin and prick the seeds out, this also keeps your hands busy doing something

What would you put in your snack box ?? I’m sure you can think of lots more, so please let me know eh

Ok, this will be a big change, but don’t do it all at once, perhaps start off with healthy snacks one day, then the next day, chocy and cakey and so on, until you get to enjoy your healthy snacks just try it

Hi happy, sounds like you're doing great. I'm celebrating 2weeks today and just want to say that I found an ecig a great help when I got a really bad craving. The support here at this lovely quit site is brilliant and there's a lot of friendly help. So you never really feel that you're going through it alone. Take care

Thanks for all the replies guys, day 4 and I'm still doing ok, not really had any cravings yet, I don't know if that's because I'm still on pain meds from surgery or because I'm not doing normal things, I've been pretty much bed bound since Tuesday, I have an e-cig to hand and am using that and I think by using it as I would have a normal cigarette I'm cutting off the craving before it happens. What I need to do is stop using the e-cig as much and see how I am when I'm back doing normal things, I keep thinking about smoking, it just pops into my head. I'm so glad that I cleared out the house of any smoking things so there is nothing here to tempt me. I want to turn the corner and not be thinking about smoking all the time, when did that time come for others here?

Hey there....... I seemed to turn the corner when I changed my clothes a few days into the quit and realised just how bad they smelt!! I instantly had to find the fabreze and then put the rest in the washer!! Hope that helps you and good luck